French Determiners - Adjectifs déterminants

The grammatical term "determiner" refers to a word, either an article or a certain type of adjective, which simultaneously introduces and modifies a noun. Determiners, also known as non-qualifying adjectives, are much more common in French than in English: some sort of determiner is nearly always required in front of each noun used - and has to agree with it in gender and number.

The main difference between a qualifying (descriptive) adjective and a non-qualifying adjective (determiner) has to do with usage: qualifying adjectives qualify or describe a noun, while non-qualifying adjectives introduce a noun and may determine or specify it at the same time.

In addition, qualifying adjectives may be

• placed before or after the noun they modify
• separated from the noun they modify by other words
• modified by a comparative or superlative adverb
• used in conjunction with one or more other qualifying adjectives to modify a single noun

Determiners, on the other hand,

• always directly precede the noun they modify
• cannot themselves be modified
• cannot be used with other determiners

They can however be used with qualifying adjectives, as in ma belle maison - my beautiful house.


Types of French Determiners

Articles
Definite articles	Definite articles denote a specific noun, or a noun in general.
	le, la, l', les the	J'ai mangé l'oignon. I ate the onion.
Indefinite articles	Indefinite articles refer to an unspecified noun.
	un, une / des a, an / some	J'ai mangé un oignon. I ate an onion.
Partitive articles	Partitive articles indicate an unknown quantity, usually of food or drink.
	du, de la, de l', des some	J'ai mangé de l'oignon. I ate some onion.
Adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives	Demonstrative adjectives indicate a specific noun.
	ce, cet, cette / ces this, that / these, those	J'ai mangé cet oignon. I ate that onion.
Exclamative adjectives	Exclamative adjectives express a strong sentiment.
	quel, quelle / quels, quelles what a / what	Quel oignon ! What an onion!
Indefinite adjectives	Affirmative indefinite adjectives modify nouns in a unspecific sense.
	autre, certain, chaque, plusieurs... other, certain, each, several...	J'ai mangé plusieurs oignons. I ate several onions.
Interrogative adjectives	Interrogative adjectives clarify "which" of something one is referring to.
	quel, quelle, quels, quelles which	Quel oignon ? Which onion?
Negative adjectives	Negative indefinite adjectives negate or cast doubt on a quality of the noun.
	ne... aucun, nul, pas un... no, not a single, not one...	Je n'a mangé aucun oignon. I didn't eat a single onion.
Numerical adjectives	Numerical adjectives include all numbers; however, only cardinal numbers are determiners, because fractions and ordinal numbers can be used with articles.
	un, deux, trois... one, two, three...	J'ai mangé trois oignons. I ate three onions.
Possessive adjectives	Possessive adjectives modify a noun with its possessor.
	Mon, ta, ses... My, your, his...	J'ai mangé ton oignon. I ate your oignon.
Relative adjectives	Relative adjectives, which are very formal, indicate a link between a noun and an antecedent.
	lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles which, said	Il a mangé l'oignon, lequel oignon était pourri. He ate the onion, said onion was rotten.